Isaiah 40:28 – 31 records God’s response to His people’s (the nation of Israel) shallow assertions regarding His knowledge and insight of their predicament and disregard of their situation. They were asserting, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”? (Isaiah 40:27) questioning God’s ability to understand their situation and if He even cared to address it.

In His response The Lord first reminds them of who He is – just in case it has slipped their minds – Isaiah 40:28
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.

Faint? Grow weary? Lack understanding? Unimaginable, inconceivable and wholly foreign concepts to the Godhead. How can The Everlasting God, He who created the ends of the earth have issues and gaps in His knowledge, understanding and insight? How is it even possible that the Creator of the Earth “overlook” their situation, and somehow miss it? It’s unthinkable. There is nothing beyond Him. And yet that was precisely the conclusion they arrived at regarding their God.

The Lord however, did not stop at reminding them of who His but proceeded to reveal His inherent desire to empower the weak and educate them in the art of tapping into His supernatural strength. Not only is God’s strength limitless and inexhaustible (vs 28: He does not faint or grow weary) but He is particularly drawn to and offers His strength to the faint and the weak. Isaiah 40:29
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.

The Lord desires to give strength to the weak, to those who recognise their weakness and acknowledge their need for Him and His strength. He offers us His strength in exchange for ours, reminding us along the way, how even our best is limited and finite, destined to fail and to cave in to exhaustion. Isaiah 40:30
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;

In contrast, His strength for those who master the art of waiting on Him, is inexhaustible and limitless causing them to effortlessly soar like the eagle, to run without tiring and walk without fainting. Isaiah 40:31
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Oh that God’s people would learn the secret of waiting upon Him!

Psalms 40:1
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.

Here are 3 key takeaways from The Lord’s response to His people’s querying of, essentially, His omniscience and His loving care for them:

1. Nothing escapes the attention of the All-knowing, everlasting Creator of the ends of the earth whose understanding is infinite – it is simply impossible. Nothing is beyond Him. Yet their lack of knowledge of God led to unjustified allegations against Him.
   
   
2. The Lord offers His inexhaustible strength in place of our hopelessly limited strength. His inexhaustible strength, strength to effortlessly soar like the eagle in the purposes of God, is available and accessible to those who belong to Him – provided they learn to wait on Him.
   
   
3. God’s inexhaustible strength is only available to those who recognise their own severe limitations and utter dependence on Him and who are willing to learn the art of waiting on Him. It takes a recognising and acknowledging of one’s own helplessness to drive one to wait on Him.
   
   By implication, The Father’s inexhaustible strength to soar is not available to those who do not wish to invest in waiting on Him. The secret is in mastering the art of waiting on the Lord, like the surfer who patiently waits for the right wave to ride the highest.
   
   For those who choose to wait on The Lord, there is access to supernatural strength that’ll power them to effortlessly soar like the eagle in God’s purposes for their lives. It is those who intentionally and in a sustained manner lean into His strength that soar effortlessly like the eagle in His purposes for them.
   
   It is in prayer that we wait on the Lord. Yet how many have the trust and faith in God, to patiently wait on Him until a point in time of His sovereign choosing to show up for them? But it is precisely those who do so in faith that God is eagerly seeking, and on standby, to show up on their behalf – 2 Chronicles 16:9
   “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is steadfast toward him.”

And it is also precisely this lack of faith The Lord Jesus berates at the close of the parable of the persistent widow which addresses the issue of persevering in prayer: Luke 18:8
I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

In other words, will people hold out in faith long enough until He shows up?